Friction-lighter



Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

} Inventor fij'lwrem, M

' gem-.71:- w g:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

inn)? THOIENS, F STE. CROIX, SWITZERLARD.

FIICTION-LIGHTER.

Application filed June 12, 1919, Serial No. 303,737.

T 0 all mam it may concern.

Be it known that I, HERMANN TI-IOREN S, a citizen of the Swiss Republic, residing at Ste. Croix, Switzerland, have invented certain, new and useful Improvements in Friction-L1ghters,-of whlch the following is a specification.

desirable source of resistance'which requires a strong spring which is very advantageous.

In the second kind the wheel is fixed. to a plate having a notch or slot in which engages a pin carrying the lid and driving'the wheel each time the lid is opened by the spring.

Among the friction lighters of this last class, there are some (see Swiss Patent No. 5489.6) wherein, for the production of the spark, it is necessary that the relative motion between the part of the wheel and the pyrophoric element shall have reached a certain value. Now the resistance opposed by the friction of the abovementioned parts against each other, is a factor the importance of which is particularly apparent when the action of the spring is beginningv and the inertia of the mechanism has yet to be overcome. The result is that if this fact is not taken into account, the wheel gets up its speed only gradually, and the commencement of the rotation constitutes a lost motion which causes misfires or weak sparks that do not insure the igniting of the saturated wick, comprised by those kinds of friction lighters.

This condition of affairs is remedied by employing, for starting the motion of the wheel, devices which do not act upon the latteruntil the other parts of the friction lighter which share the motion generated by the spring, have already stored up a certain momentum. -The driving is therefore sudden, and a powerful spark is immediately produced without it being necessary to stress the spring unduly, thus preventing shocks specification of Letters Patent Patented Nov. 16, 1920. Renewed August 23, 1920. Serial No. 405,483. which end in throwing the entire mechanism out of order.

The improved friction lighter forming the Sub ect matter of the present invention belongs by reason of its construction to neither of the hereinbefore mentioned classes, and 1n addition to the qualities of the second class, more particularly of the models of this class which take into account the difliculties of starting the mechanism, it affords advantages which constitute it a friction lighter that is more simple, more practical and of stronger construction than those hitherto known.

It is characterized by the feature that the lid is provided with a hook pivotally connected to it with considerable friction, and

arranged, after the lid has begun its opening movement by the action of the spring, to

engage under one of the various pins extending from the crown surface of the wheel for the purpose of rotating the said wheel suddenly; said pin being released by said hook when the lid is closed in order, by rocking around the pivot of the latter, to bear against a stop surface, and then to slide over said stop surface until the lid is closed.

A constructional form of the improved friction lighter according to this invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows it open, the front wall be ing removed.

Fig. 2 shows the apparatus closed, from the same sideas that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows on a larger scale the various relative positions of the hook and the pins referred to in the opening statement.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the device with'the lid raised.

. Referring to the above mentioned drawings, a is a box to which a lid 6 is hinged, the greater portion of which is occupied-by a reservoir 0 in which is immersed a wick spring action which is introduced into a s ort neck soldered to the top of the reser- VOlI' a.

This construction has the advantage of guiding the wick for a considerable length, so that when by reason of the want of petrol dered a bracket f formed in one piece with the top of the reservoir 0 in which is riveted an axle pin on which the wheel 9 can rotate freely. The bracket f is prolonged.

upwardly by an arm in a claw f of which there is adapted to slide a pyrophoric stone pressed against the wheel by a straight end of a. spring whose turns surround the axis of the hinge of the 'lid,jand whose other end bears, against the latter.

This spring works intorsion and has a tendency to keep the lid open, and it is prolonged inside the latter for maintenance of an extinguisher h which when the lid is closed, fits upon the burner d. A push stud is further provided for maintaining this closure. The hook 2' is pivotally connected with considerable friction to a part fixed to the lid. It is so arranged as to engage one of the three pins which are carried by the crown face of the wheel, and so as to move the said wheel at each opening of the lid.

\ This drive is effected in the following man ner. I

Vhen the lid is closed and the spring is stressed, the hook (see Fig. 3) is in the position I. At the time of opening this hook moves (by virtue of the considerable friction of its pivotal connection) not around its own pivot, but around the axle pin of the lid as a center, and comes into the position II, in which it meets one of the pins of the wheel over which it first slides until it engages it with its nose, and then couples the wheel to the lid.

The stoppage of the latter constitutes also the stoppage of the wheel, and the parts are in the relative positions indicated at III.

When the lid is closed again, the hook retains at first relatively to the latter the position which it occupied in its third stage still by virtue of the considerable friction of its pivotalconnection, and it moves with the lid around the axle pin of the latter until it meets the upper portion of the reservoir (position IV) which forms here the stopping surface referred to in the opening statement, over which surface it slides and returns into the position I.

It will be seen that before the wheel is operated, all the other movable parts of the apparatus will have acquired a certain speed. This has the result of producing a sudden and rapid rotation of the wheel, and although the latter rotates only through one third of a revolution at each operation, thespark is a powerful spark and the saturated wick is ignited with certainty.

Another advantage of the construction shown consists in the fact that all the parts of the friction lighter which are subject to wear can be replaced without the aid of any tool. As a matter of fact if, the lid being open, the, lid be closed a little, the'hook will become disengaged from the pin. Then on releasing the lid the latter rocks to the right so as to bring the hook into the position V (Fig. 3).

In this position the hook which was keeping the wheel in place on its axle. no longer prevents the removal of the wheel. The slot formed in the box allows of its replacement. On the other hand, the part b of the lid abuts against the underside of the limb of the spring that bears upon the pyrophoric element and places the latter out of operation. In position V this limb occupies the position shown in Fig. 3, and allows removal of the stone.

- Vhat I claim is In a pocket friction lighter, a box having a reservoir, a lid hinged to the box, a wick burner mounted in the box, a bracket extending upwardly from one side of the box, a roughened wheel rotatably mounted in the bracket, pins projecting from one face of the wheel, an arm continuing upwardly from the bracket and terminating in a holder, a pyrophoric stone in the holder, a spring surrounding the pivot of the lid hinge andhaving one arm bearing against the stone to hold the latter in yielding engagement with the periphery of the wheel, an extinguisher supported by the other arm of the spring and positioned within the lid, a plate secured to the lid and a hook arm pivotally connected with considerable friction to the plate for coacting with the pins to partially rotate the wheel upon opening of the lid and designed to slide on the top of the box upon the closing of the lid, and catch means releasably holding the lid closed.

, Intestimony whereof I havesigned my name to this s ecification.

ERMANN THORENS.-

an easy Witnesses ULYE$SE GAMPICHE, FERNAND BERNEY. 

